PAAC has been working hard to reconnect schools and clubs with our programs. We are excited to share the fun ways that we were able to work with students in Fall 2021 and what we have planned for Spring 2022.
School Workshops and Events
In November PAAC held two Climate Change Policy events at ‘Iolani School- Debbie Millikan, ʻIolani’s Garden and Sustainability Director, invited PAAC to prepare her Sustainability class students with a better understanding of the negotiation processes underway at COP26 in Glasgow through the use of the En-ROADS simulator. Students explored the tool to develop a climate policy proposal that would address climate change, which each student group shared with the class. Roya Dennis, our new High School Global Education Program Director, worked with students to support their understanding of the dynamics involved in these policies and changes using the data of the En-ROADS simulator.
Also preparing for COP26 in Glasgow, John Bickle and Rhonda Nagao, advisors for ‘Iolani's PACMUN/PAAC club, brought PAAC to share the En-ROADS tool with their students. Students were given stakeholder groups (World Government, Clean Tech, Industry & Agriculture, Climate Action, and Energy) for climate policy negotiations. In their stakeholder groups, they came up with three policies to address climate change. Each policy was input into the En-ROADS simulator so students could see the many solutions and the dynamic systems in play that will need to be enacted to address this issue.
STUDENT QUOTES
“What surprised you about this simulation?”
- - “I was surprised how there was a website that showed how climate change could be prevented by taking certain measures.”
- - “How straight-forward fixing the world was.”
“What was most valuable?”
- - “What I found most valuable was the way that the presenter effectively explained how certain changes caused others, making the website’s various graphs more clear.”
- - “I never really thought that about how many different perspectives there were in the climate race.”
Developing Global Leaders
Great leaders are reflective and able to see their own limits and challenges.
PAAC redesigned the Global Leadership Program curriculum into a workshop series that clubs could host as an activity for the club and school community. Workshops cover topics ranging from leadership, communication, bias & culture, and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (learn more here).
Hawaii Technology Academy-Oahu’s PAAC Club and advisor, Ms. Shiloh Francis, requested a two-part workshop on Blind Bias & Culture. Students considered what makes culture and how well culture is able to recognize its own traits. The group dove into considering the explicit and implicit or blind biases we each hold.
What Did Students Say?
- - 90% of students agreed or strongly agreed: “The content was relevant and useful to my development as a leader” and “I can apply what I learned in this workshop to my life.”
- - 100% of students agreed or strongly agreed: “The workshop met my expectations” and “The workshop objectives were clear.”
“What was the most valuable part of the workshop?”
- - “I love how this got me thinking about my own unconscious thinking about bias. It kind of sent me into a rabbit hole of thinking.”
- - “I really loved the discussion and hearing people want to improve on their personal bias towards others “
- - “The most valuable part of the workshop I think was sharing stories of times when we ourselves were biased. It can be very scary to share because we do not want to be judged for our implicit and explicit biases, but it helps to break the ice so we can all share, learn about ourselves, and challenge our biases together.”
Guest Speaker Events at Schools:
PAAC proudly shares its network of experts with school communities. Clubs can select from a list of PAAC guest speakers on topics of interest to them.
In October 2021 St. Andrew’s Priory hosted Retired Peace Corps Volunteers, Lindsey Brown, Kamaka Dias, and Alan Kusnoki. The team shared their experiences as Peace Corps Volunteers in Benin, West Africa, Madagascar, and Afghanistan respectively. Students asked speakers to speak to the following questions:
- What inspired you to join the Peace Corps and what was that process like for you?
- Cross-cultural perspectives: how do we develop them?
- What does it mean to be a global citizen?
In November 2021, Sacred Hearts Academy invited Daniel Leung, Culinary Instructor at Kapi’olani Community College, to speak about food security issues and how they play out in Hawai’i. Students asked him to speak to the following questions:
- What happens to food waste?
- What are the reasons for such prevalent food waste? What are the regulations that guide whether or not a school can use unopened food and drink items?
- What can we, the students, do about it?
- What are the most pressing issues surrounding school food waste?
Overall, we are proud of the ways PAAC was able to share its expertise and programs with our school communities. We look forward to our first in-person event since 2020.
On March 5, 2022, PAAC will be hosting the Spring Global Vision Summit (GVS) and Academic World Quest Competition. Through GVS, students from across the state will learn about the many connected issues around the topic of water: from protection to conservation to urban design, water plays a global role in the health of people and the planet. We are excited to share space with students again and ignite their passion for learning and contributing to their communities.